


The Taste of Honey

by beneaththemask125



Series: I-dle Fics [1]
Category: (여자)아이들 | (G)I-DLE
Genre: Canon Compliant, Comfort, Eventual Smut, F/F, First Kiss, First Time, Fluff, Slow Burn, YuYeon, kpop, with a little angst and a lot of yearning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:34:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27430558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beneaththemask125/pseuds/beneaththemask125
Summary: Five times Soyeon was vulnerable in front of Yuqi.
Relationships: Jeon Soyeon/Song Yuqi
Series: I-dle Fics [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2034514
Comments: 31
Kudos: 221





	1. Produce 101

“You get one phone call today. Twenty minutes max.”

Soyeon rushed to put the digits into the borrowed phone, happy she had long memorized her best friend’s number. Since she had already spoken to her parents and sister a week ago, she thought calling Soojin would be the best way to cheer herself up after a difficult week of evaluations.

“Pick up please.” Soyeon whispered into the phone, desperate for her friend’s soothing voice.

On the fifth ring, someone finally answered.

Unfortunately, instead of a soft and gentle “Hello?,” she could hear a deep voice on the other side. She had a feeling it wasn’t her friend but couldn’t help but try anyways.

“Soojinah?”

After a moment of silence, Soyeon heard the other voice yell excitingly into the phone. She almost dropped the flip phone that the staff had given her out of shock.

“Oh! This is Soojin sunbaenim’s phone? I should have guessed from all the cute cherry stickers.”

The foreign accent and awkwardly formal way of speaking threw Soyeon off until she remembered that there was a new Chinese trainee at the company. She couldn’t remember the girl’s name though. Soyeon had been way too busy preparing for Produce with Eunbin and Younseo the past few months to pay attention to anything else. All she remembered was that the girl was a pretty good hip hop dancer and had a smooth, deep singing voice.

“Who are you?”

“This is Song Yuqi. I found this phone on the floor in the practice room and was trying to figure out who it belonged to right before you called!”

Ok, that made sense. Soojin was always a bit forgetful. But Soyeon didn’t have enough time to make small talk with this girl.

“Well, can you give it back to her? Quickly?”

Soyeon hated sounding rude, but she was under a lot of pressure. However, the girl wasn’t so understanding. She actually sounded quite offended.

“Excuse me? You know, I don’t like to be rushed by unknown voices calling from unknown numbers. Why should she talk to you anyways?”

“Are you kidding me?”

“I never joke.”

This girl was exasperating.

“Ugh! Just find Soojin, I don’t have much time to talk.”

“I think she went home. I saw her and Minnie-sunbaenim put on their winter jackets in the hallway.”

“Why didn’t you say that earlier!”

“You never asked! And I still don’t even know who you are!”

“It’s Soyeon!!! I mean, I’m Jeon Soyeon.”

Soyeon could hear the girl let out a loud curse away from the phone mic. When she returned, her entire demeaner had changed.

“Oh my god! Soyeon-sunbaenim I’m so so sorry I didn’t mean to be so rude oh my god you’re on Produce 101 right now and just want to speak to your friend before returning to the competition oh my god I’m so sorry—”

The girl was speaking so quickly that Soyeon could barely make out the words. It sounded like she even slipped back into Mandarin at one point. Soyeon looked at the clock, seeing that she had already wasted five minutes of her only phone call for the week.

“I guess I’ll just call my parents again—”

Soyeon would never tell them, but she truly hated worrying her parents with her troubles. When they spoke last week, it was really nice to hear their voices again… but it felt like she spent more time calming their worries than them comforting her. She just wanted to make them proud, but she also knew she needed someone to vent her hardships to. Soojin was a great listener and always knew exactly what to tell Soyeon to make her feel better. But she wasn’t an option anymore. The next best person would have been her little sister, but Soyeon knew she was still in class at this hour. She was out of luck.

She was just about to say goodbye to the trainee when she heard the other girl yell again.

“Wait!”

“What?”

“You can…um… speak to me if you want. Like, if you need anything, I’m here! I heard I’m a great listener. That’s what people told me, yup!”

The longer she spoke, the more and more confident the other girl’s voice sounded.

Despite her previous annoyance with the girl on the other side of the phone, Soyeon couldn’t deny that she really just needed to talk to someone who could understand her. Maybe the other girl—Song Yuqi, if she remembered correctly— could help her feel normal again, far away from the constant judgement and cameras that have been following her for the past three weeks.

“Um… I guess that would be ok...”

Yuqi probably heard the hesitation in her voice, and decided she would take charge of their conversation.

“So Soyeon-sunbaenim, how has the competition been?”

“It’s been going well enough… I think our opening performance was pretty good. I’m proud of the other girls, definitely.”

Soyeon wasn’t great at judging her own performance, but she really did think the other trainees did a great job.

“I actually watched the first episode a few days ago when it aired! I mean we all did, me and Elkie and some of the other foreign trainees. You and Eunbin did so well! We couldn’t stop cheering.”

Soyeon felt herself blush. She hadn’t even thought about the other trainees watching the show, and now she couldn’t help but feel embarrassed by the compliments.

“Really?”

“Yea! You’re rapping was so confident, I totally saw why Cheetah sunbaenim was impressed. And your pigtails were so cute!”

Soyeon had originally been against the pigtails when the stylist had suggested them, worried they would take away from her rapper image. But it seems that everyone was a fan of them. She never thought people would see her as cute, so it was a new feeling to her.

“Oh… thank you.”

“No need to thank me! Just saying the truth. You reminded me of when I first watched Hyuna sunbaenim perform back when I was growing up in Beijing. Really inspiring!”

Soyeon could only awkwardly giggle at that, unsure of how to respond to the comparison to one of her heroes. She felt doubt pull at her as she thought of how she compared to the other girls around her. She wasn’t even close to being like Hyuna, but her fellow contestants looked like supermodels and could sing like professionals.

“Can I tell you something, Yuqi?”

“Yes!”

“I’m just… worried that I don’t fit in.”

Soyeon felt her voice crack.

“In what way?”

Yuqi didn’t seem caught off-guard by her personal admission and sounded like she was ready to listen to all of Soyeon’s problems.

“The other girls… they are all so tall and pretty. They have this natural elegance I could never have. With a face like this… I don’t think I’ll get far no matter how talented I am.”

Soyeon wasn’t sure why she was opening up to this girl so easily, but the words just flowed out of her like water. It was probably due to her lack of sleeping and food.

“That’s nonsense!”

Soyeon was shocked by her outburst.

“You got this far just being yourself, so I know you will succeed if you stay true to yourself! You have nowhere to go but up!”

Soyeon had never heard a more confident teenager in her life. Part of her wanted to snort at her naive conviction, but the bigger part of herself desperately clinged to Yuqi’s words. Supportive comments were rare during the competition, and she felt her stomach warm for the first time in weeks.

“You’re not joking, right?”

“Not at all! I’ve seen you practice before, and you’re amazing. And don’t worry about your face either. It will only help you.”

“Now you must really be joking.”

“Nope! You have this unique charm. Pure charisma. And it doesn’t hurt that you’re adorable too. The Crazy stage… wow, just wow.”

Soyeon had never met another person who had poured compliments onto her like this before in her life. Usually, most statements were accompanied with a ‘but.’

_Your talent is high, but your height on the other hand…_

_Your gaze is so charismatic, but have you ever thought of getting your eyes done?_

_You could go so far if we just fixed a few things here and there._

This time, though, it sounded like Yuqi was just being nice for the sake of being nice. It was… refreshing.

“Thank you. I think I really needed that.”

A beep from across the room startled Soyeon as she thanked the other girl. She looked over at the clock, remembering that she was on a tight time limit. Only one minute remained for her phone call. She had to wrap this up quickly. Soyeon cleared her throat, trying to regain her strong image after losing herself a bit during the call.

“And Yuqi… you don’t have to speak so formally to me. We’re both trainees.”

“Really? I thought I was supposed to speak up to you, since you’re the longest trainee at the company? I still don’t really understand Korean speaking rules to be quite honest… they don’t make any sense.”

Soyeon couldn’t help but giggle at that. This girl was entertaining, if anything.

“It just feels weird when you call me sunbaenim.”

“So… I can call you unnie? Really?”

Soyeon could hear the clear excitement in Yuqi’s voice. She felt weird telling a girl she barely knew to call her unnie, but the other girl seemed so eager. It couldn’t hurt, since she would probably get to know Yuqi better after the show ended anyways. She tried to sound cool and nonchalant when she answered the other girl.

“Yes, sure.”

“Awesome! Soyeon unnie!”

Soyeon laughed, amused by the pure energy the other girl gave out.

“I have to go now, Yuqi. But…um… I appreciate you listening to me.”

“It was no problem! Good luck, Soyeon unnie! I know you’ll do great!”

Soyeon couldn’t help but return to the break room with a giant smile on her face. Maybe this competition wouldn’t be so hard. She knew she at least had one person supporting her, and that was all she needed, even if it was a strange girl with a cute accent.


	2. Unpretty Rapstar

Soyeon lay her head on her desk in defeat. It was already 2 am, and she still hadn’t finished the lyrics for her new song. Unpretty Rapstar filming started at 8 am, so she guessed that she would only end up having two or three hours of sleep even if she rushed the last few lines. She’s worked on less sleep before, but she could really feel it getting to her. Her competition were all older and more experienced than her, unlike during Produce 101, and she strived to live up to their expectations. She stretched back in her chair, cracking her back and rolling her neck before she got back to work.

For this round, Soyeon really wanted to dig deep and write something that expressed her inner self. She wasn’t a fan of the diss raps, but she understood they brought in the viewers, so she tried to do her best. This time she was grateful they could choose the subject of their songs, and she wanted to make it relatable to other kids her age who were also pursuing their dreams. She already came up with a title, _Smile_ , and most of the chorus. It was the more personal lines that were difficult for her to write, and she had been agonizing over them all night. It felt more like she was rushing to finish a last-minute essay than her usual fun song writing sessions. Maybe this is what being an adult felt like. Never having enough time or energy to do something you usually enjoy.

Soyeon spent another ten minutes going back and forth between two lines she didn’t love when she heard a loud crash in the hallway outside her studio room. Most of the time she was one of the only people left in the Cube studios at this time of the night, with a few members of CLC or BTOB roaming the halls at random times after late schedules or practice sessions. She guessed it was probably one of the boys causing chaos, but she changed her mind when she heard another crash that was accompanied by a girl’s voice cursing out loud.

Soyeon decided to investigate the commotion happening outside her room, and made her way into the hallway just in time to see Yuqi dropping three half empty soda bottles out of her overstuffed arms. Her arms were filled with various things, from blankets to empty food containers to a single shoe. She had so many things in her arms that Soyeon couldn’t even see anything below her panicked eyes.

The soda bottles rolled to Soyeon’s feet, where Yuqi’s eyes followed until she realized who was standing in front of her.

“Unnie! Help!”

Soyeon rushed over to grab a few styrofoam containers before they joined the bottles on the floor. Together, they made it to the garbage bins and Soyeon could finally see Yuqi’s face now that it wasn’t blocked by junk. They threw the blankets and random pieces of clothing into the storage closet, and Yuqi took a relieved breath when she was finally free, leaning on the hallway wall as she finally looked back at Soyeon.

“So… what happened?”

“I lost rock paper scissors, so I was in charge of cleaning the practice room tonight. But it was one of the trainee’s birthday tonight so there was so much to clean.”

Yuqi was pouting, and even in her exhausted state, Soyeon couldn’t help but giggle at the younger girl’s whining.

“You guys must have eaten a lot.”

Yuqi rubbed her stomach, the universal sign for ‘I’m stuffed.’

“I think they ordered the whole menu from the restaurant and then more from the bakery. I think you’re gonna have to roll me to the dorms.”

Soyeon laughed as Yuqi pretended to roll towards the door.

“Unfortunately, I can’t go back yet. I haven’t finished my song yet.”

Yuqi’s ears perked up at that.

“For Unpretty? What does it sound like so far?”

“It’s not great…”

“I still want to hear it! And I don’t need to sleep yet because my classes don’t start till late tomorrow so don’t tell me to go home!”

Soyeon usually hated showing her songs before they were finished, but she was so stuck that maybe a new set of ears could help her out.

She led Yuqi back to her studio, where the younger girl immediately sprawled across her couch, uninvited. They were still new friends, but Yuqi acted like they had been best friends for years. Soyeon didn’t hate it, especially since it usually took her so long to make new friends. Normally she didn’t even bother, unless the other person was insistent, like Yuqi and Minnie had been. With Soojin, their energies matched well enough that they became friends simply from being the two weird quiet kids in the corner while everyone else was loud and energetic during practice.

“Stop stalling and let’s hear it!”

Soyeon felt shy when she pressed play, reminding her of when she would have to present her speech in front of her whole class. She pulled her hoodie over her head and turned away from the younger girl, burrowing into her chair as Yuqi listened to her song.

Soyeon expected Yuqi to yell and cheer after she finished listening, as the energetic girl usually did, but instead she was strangely quiet.

Soyeon finally spun around in her chair, afraid that Yuqi didn’t like it. The late-night mood definitely didn’t help with her paranoia.

But when she turned around, Yuqi’s eyes were shining.

“Wow.”

“Wow?”

“I think this might be your best so far.”

“Really?”

Soyeon was shocked. She was worried that she was grinding through this mission, rushing to finish without spending enough thought or heart on the assignment.

“It really felt like _you_. My Korean isn’t so great yet, but the lyrics sounded so fresh and relatable. The perfect thing for people our age to listen to.”

That’s what Soyeon had been aiming for, and she was surprised Yuqi could pick up on that so quickly.

“Oh… thanks.”

Soyeon fought a blush that was spreading across her face.

“I noticed that there were still some lines missing near the end though?”

Soyeon sighed. They finally looped around to where she was a half hour ago.

“I’ve been having a lot of trouble with them. I’m worried about getting too personal.”

Yuqi placed her chin on the palm of her hand, thinking hard.

“Don’t worry too much about that. I think it will be your ace against the other contestants.”

“Really?”

“Totally! Some of them are successful musicians who’ve been in the industry for years. They aren’t relatable to normal girls around our age. They are cool, for sure, but how far can boasting get you?”

Yuqi had a point. Established elebrities didn’t feel like real people sometimes, and she could use her status as a trainee and high school student to her advantage.

“You’re right. I just hope it works.”

“Don’t doubt yourself! Or I’ll have to punch you.”

“You can try.” Soyeon teased back.

“I will! Every time you say something bad about yourself, I’ll hit you.”

Yuqi made a small fist and attempted an intimidating expression, which quickly broke into laughter. Soyeon joined in, and they ended up rolling in laughter on the couch. Maybe it was because it was already 3 am, or maybe it was because of the company she had, but Soyeon couldn’t stop giggling, especially every time she looked over at Yuqi and saw how funny and cute she looked when she was laughing at her own joke.

After they had calmed down, Soyeon felt her resolve return.

“Let’s finish this tonight.”

Yuqi’s face lit up.

“Ok!”

Yuqi grabbed a pen from her desk and began furiously writing notes next to Soyeon’s lyrics. Yuqi had mentioned before that she was an intense student, and Soyeon didn’t believe her until now.

They spent the next few hours bouncing ideas off of each other, laughing at inside jokes, and playing around the studio until they finally finished. Soyeon hadn’t had this much fun in weeks, and she felt her happiness seep into her lyrics, ridding them of the gloomy mood that had been hanging over her.

Yuqi somehow knew how to break through her walls without even trying. They hadn’t even been friends for very long, but Yuqi somehow fit herself so naturally into Soyeon’s life that she couldn’t imagine it without the younger girl. Adults often said that friendship was hard, but hanging out with Yuqi made it seem so easy. She hoped the other girl felt the same way about her.

By 6 am, they had ended up cuddled up together on the couch, watching funny clips on Soyeon’s laptop while eating snacks stolen from one of the boy’s practice rooms.

Neither of them noticed when they fell asleep.

When Soyeon’s manager found her in the morning, ready to rush her to the stylists for filming, Soyeon was passed out on the couch in her studio, her laptop balanced precariously on her lap. There was another girl sleeping on her shoulder, giving out small snores as she snuggled into the blanket that haphazardly covered them. They looked deep asleep, and the manager didn’t want to disturb them yet, giving them ten more minutes to sleep.


	3. Latata

“Let’s try it one more time!”

Soyeon directed the girls through the steps, examining their every move for small mistakes and inconstancies. They were only a few weeks away from debut, and they all wanted to be flawless. Soyeon was happy that they trusted her enough with their debut song, and she wanted to repay them by making sure their first stage was nothing but perfect.

Because of this, they had been practicing late into the night almost every day, forgoing sleep for those precious hours of practice.

Soyeon was dancing in the front, watching Soojin’s hand positions in the mirror when she felt her ankle roll to the side during a quick transition. She immediately crouched to the ground, letting out a small whine of pain before the other girls noticed what happened.

Minnie rushed to turn the music off while Miyeon and Soojin came to crouch next to the injured girl.

“Are you ok, Soyeonnie?!” Miyeon grabbed her elbow, worry evident in her voice.

“Is it your ankle?” Soojin asked as she grabbed Soyeon’s other arm, helping Miyeon move the smaller girl to the nearest couch.

Soyeon grimaced, hoping the pain wouldn’t break through her voice.

“I’m… I’m ok. Just a twisted ankle, I think.”

Yuqi came to sit next to her, trying to get a closer look at her swelling ankle.

“Are you sure you’re ok?” The younger girl’s eyes narrowed as she watched Soyeon’s face closely.

“Yea, yea. I think it’s fine. Let’s keep going.”

Soyeon was about to limp off of the couch, but before she could, Shuhua pushed her back down.

“I don’t think so, unnie. You are going to hurt it more.” Shuhua was still stumbling through her Korean, but when she demanded something, her words was crystal clear.

“I agree. Soyeon, you should take a break tonight. You’ve been pushing yourself too hard recently.” Minnie gave her a firm look, daring her to challenge her.

Soyeon, usually one to argue back, cowered under the older girl’s gaze. She _was_ really tired. She was hungry too. And now her ankle was shooting pain up and down her leg. She gave in.

“Fine, fine.” The leader grumbled into her hoodie.

“I’ll take her back to the dorm, you guys should keep going.” Yuqi volunteered, surprising Soyeon. She thought the younger girl would be the last to want to stop training early, due to her single-minded pursuit to be the best she can be.

“It’s fine—"

“Ok, sounds good, Yuqi. I’ll take over while you’re resting, captain.” Minnie quickly decided, cutting Soyeon off, with all others agreeing.

“Now that that’s all settled, I’ll help you get home. Manager unnie is probably asleep by now so we have to walk.”

Soyeon felt Yuqi move closer, nudging her arm so she would lift it. Yuqi wrapped her own arm behind Soyeon’s back and helped her rise from the couch. The younger girl was deceptively strong, and Soyeon didn’t have to work too hard as she gingerly stepped onto her injured leg.

As they made their way out of the practice room, a chorus of voices bid them goodnight.

“See you tomorrow morning!”

“Feel better!”

“Put some ice on it!”

“Eat something healthy!”

They half hopped, half limped the whole way home, but it wasn’t too painful for Soyeon thanks to Yuqi’s aid. The younger girl chatted happily all the way home, probably to help Soyeon keep her mind off of her pain and debut-induced anxiety. Soyeon wasn’t in the most talkative mood, but she appreciated Yuqi’s attempts to cheer her up.

After a longer walk than usual, they finally made it to their dorm.

Yuqi, half paying attention, was just about to deposit Soyeon onto the older girl’s own bed before she noticed all the various items messily spread across the bed.  
  


“Sorry… it’s a bit messy.” Soyeon hadn’t had much time for things like cleaning or even eating properly recently, so her usually messy half of the room was even messier than usual. Yuqi took it all in stride, knowing how stressed out their leader was, and didn’t even miss a beat before walking Soyeon out of the room and into her own.

“You can rest on my bed right now, and I’ll clean up your bed while you relax.”

“You don’t have to—”

“It’s no problem! You deserve some rest after doing all of this for us.” Yuqi’s smile shined as she spoke to Soyeon, and she gave her a cute wink before sorting through her pillows to find a good sized one to place under Soyeon’s ankle.

Soyeon leaned back into Yuqi’s headboard with a huff, an unfamiliar feeling spreading through her. It wasn’t unpleasant, however, just… different. The closest feeling she could compare it to was when she was sick as a child and her mom would bring her rice porridge and tea, telling her everything would be alright even though she didn’t feel alright.

Yuqi sat at the foot of the bed, gingerly poking Soyeon’s swollen ankle. After a short deliberation, she moved the older girl’s ankle and its supporting pillow onto her lap so she could examine it closer. Soyeon just went along with it.

“Tell me if it hurts.”

Yuqi began gently bending her ankle in different directions, closely watching Soyeon’s expression for any sign of pain. Her hands were steady and comforting, and Soyeon was having a difficult time reconciling this careful side of Yuqi with the girl’s crazy and overactive side.

“Ah, ah.”

Yuqi had bent her ankle to the left, and pain shot up Soyeon’s leg. After hearing the older girl’s sounds of pain, Yuqi carefully returned her foot to the pillow it was resting on.

“It doesn’t seem like it’s broken, but it’s probably a sprain. You should probably take it easy this week until it heals.”

Yuqi seemed awfully confident about her diagnosis, surprising Soyeon with her knowledge.

“How did you learn these things?”

“Oh, my father always pushed me into sports as a kid so I would get tough, but I got hurt a lot because I was usually one of the only girls on the team. I used to cry a lot, but I learned a lot from my coaches about injuries which has been really helpful during training.”

Soyeon remembered the other stories Yuqi told about her dad, and this seemed to be very in character for him.

“You always surprise me.”

Soyeon meant to say that in a teasing tone, but instead it came out sounding much softer.

Yuqi noticed it too, and another smile broke out on her face, this time quieter and more earnest.

“I always like to keep a few tricks up my sleeve.”

Soyeon didn’t know how to respond, so she just giggled at Yuqi’s attempt to be charming. She could admit that the younger girl was charming in her own—often exasperating—way.

“I’m going to go grab the ice, is there anything else you need?”

“I’m ok, I think.”

Soyeon wasn’t used to this. Being taken care of. She was always the one the other girls relied on when they needed help, even the older girls. It made her feel like she had to shoulder her own burden, like all leaders are supposed to— or at least, that’s what she’s heard.

When Yuqi left the room, Soyeon snuggled deep into the various stuffed animals in the younger girl’s bed. She would rather be practicing right now, _of course_ , but this wasn’t too bad.

The bed smelled like Yuqi, a calming tea-like scent that reminded her of autumn. The girl didn’t have many decorations in her new room yet, due to their recent busyness, but a few keepsakes from her parents and friends in China lay upon the shelves. Soyeon knew Yuqi missed her home, and her heart hurt a bit when she thought of the girl’s teary eyes whenever she spoke about how much she missed her parents. Soyeon took her own family’s availability for granted, knowing that her parents and sister were only a short subway ride away. She hoped that once they debuted, the three foreign members would get to see their families more often, and hopefully even get to perform in their own home countries.

While she was contemplating, Yuqi returned to the bedroom, hands filled with ice packs, a first aid kit, and a few snacks.

She tossed some candy at Soyeon with an impish smile before retaking her spot on the bed, Soyeon’s ankle gently cradled in her lap. The younger girl placed the ice packs down without any warning, causing Soyeon jolt up out of her comfortable position on the bed.

“That’s freezing! I don’t need it!”

Soyeon was ready to kick off the ice pack before Yuqi gave her a stern look and placed the ice pack squarely onto her injury.

“Just sit there and enjoy your candy.”

She must have planned for Soyeon’s childish protests and brought the snacks to placate her. It was unfair that Yuqi could predict her like that. Soyeon grumbled and popped a handful of jellies into her mouth before she could say something back to Yuqi.

The other girl laughed at her leader’s frown and filled her own smiling mouth with jellies while readjusting the ice pack every few minutes.

After ten minutes of snack-induced peace, Yuqi eventually broke the silence.

“Is it ok if I give your ankle a massage? I heard it will help heal it faster.”

“Oh…ok.”

Soyeon was too tired to say no, even though she usually had a sassy remark prepared for Yuqi whenever she said something weird. And she would never admit to it, but the fluttering feeling in her stomach made speaking more than a few words to the other girl quite difficult.

Yuqi moved the ice pack to the side, dabbing Soyeon’s ankle with a small towel to get the cold condensation off her skin. Her ankle still looked quite swollen, but luckily it hadn’t turned blue or anything. It would probably take a week or two to heal. Not ideal, but not as bad as it could have been.

Yuqi reached over to her bedside table to grab a bottle of lotion that she soon spread liberally on Soyeon’s ankle. The older girl shivered when the cold lotion hit her skin, but it was quickly warmed up by Yuqi’s hands rubbing patterns onto her skin.

Yuqi’s movements were gentle but decisive, which was fitting for her. She was surprisingly talented at massage, and Soyeon could feel herself relaxing as the girl worked her magic. The pain had turned into a dull ache, with her foot feeling heavier than ever before. But the massage lessened the numbness and she could start to feel the initial swelling go down.

Yuqi’s eyes were narrowed and focused on her task, so she didn’t seem to notice Soyeon’s staring. It let Soyeon get a good look at the younger girl without the background noise of everyday life. Her curls were up in a messy bun, with her bangs hanging cutely over her face. She was still wearing her practice clothes, a simple white crop tee and sweatpants, but Soyeon thought she always looked nice in them even when they were tired and sweaty after dancing.

_Was Yuqi’s nose always that cute looking from the side?_

Ok… maybe she had been staring for too long now. She turned her attention to a random point in the bedroom while contemplating the weird feeling in her stomach.

This was the first time Soyeon had shared a moment this intimate with someone else, even if it was just for her health, so she wasn’t sure how to proceed. Maybe that was why she felt so weird? She decided to just stay quiet, feeling herself fall deeper and deeper into Yuqi’s pillows. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she was moments away from falling asleep when she realized that she was still on the other girl’s bed. It would be beyond rude to take Yuqi’s bed for the night while her own was a mess. Her eyes snapped back open. She needed to wake herself up. Maybe a conversation would help.

“You’re good at this.” Soyeon admitted before she even realized what she said, her best attempt at breaking the silence before she accidently fell asleep. She grabbed a chocolate bar from the snack pile to occupy herself while her cheeks were burning.

“I’ve been told that I have a healing touch.”

Soyeon rolled her eyes at Yuqi’s boast. The younger girl chuckled and continued her massage. A few moments passed before Soyeon responded, never wanting Yuqi to have the last word.

“Don’t get cocky.”

Now Yuqi’s attention was caught, and she raised her gaze to match Soyeon’s.

“It’s not my fault I’m a fast learner.”

Was Yuqi really doing this right now? Soyeon couldn’t even compliment her without her acting so smug. It simultaneously infuriated and excited her.

“Do you really believe that?”

Soyeon challenged her, her energy finally returning for the first time that night. Nothing like a playful argument with the younger girl to get her out of her self-pity spiral. Or maybe it was the chocolate bar. Either way, she leaned forward, quirking her eyebrow as she waited for Yuqi’s response.

“Of course. I never joke.”

Soyeon’s eyes narrowed. She remembered the girl saying that long ago, when they first spoke to each other over the phone. It made her just as annoyed now as it did the first time.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Of course. I’m good at everything.”

“Everything? Really?”

Soyeon wasn’t sure what they were talking about anymore at this point, outside of their empty words of challenge. But it felt like they were both moving beyond their playful conversation to something much more delicate.

“Do I need to prove it?”

There was a strange charge in the air as Yuqi leaned forward with a satisfied grin. Soyeon couldn’t resist the urge to wipe it off her face. While her right hand was occupied with her chocolate bar, her left hand itched to move to Yuqi’s round cheek.

But instead of playfully slapping her, it rested gently against Yuqi’s soft skin.

_Oh._

Their eyes met, and Soyeon heart stopped. She wasn’t sure what was happening, but something felt different than normal.

_They were alone together on Yuqi’s bed._

_Yuqi’s hand was braced against Soyeon’s thigh as she leaned forward._

_The younger girl’s face was only a few inches away from her own._

Soyeon’s brain stopped working.

As Yuqi leaned closer, Soyeon felt her eyes closing involuntarily. She couldn’t think clearly. She could feel Yuqi’s breath on her lips. She could smell her watermelon lip balm. The temperature in the room rose rapidly.

_Is this really happening?_

Just as she felt movement on the bed, instead of the brush of soft lips against her own, she heard a large crunch.

Then she soon heard a chewing noise and fluttered her eyes back open just to witness Yuqi biting off half of Soyeon’s unfinished chocolate bar, which had been clenched in her frozen hand just above her chest. The younger girl’s expression was so smug that Soyeon _actually_ wanted to slap her now.

“You little…!”

Yuqi burst off of the bed before Soyeon could hit her, a deep belly laugh filling the room as she finished swallowing the chocolate in her mouth. She was dancing in place, her pointer fingers pointing at the ceiling as she moved her hips back and forth in a childish movement. Now Soyeon was actually annoyed. She felt deep, deep embarrassment, which she definitely did not have the time or energy to explore right now.

“That was payment for your hospital fees.”

There were crumbs of chocolate on Yuqi’s face, making the younger girl look even sillier at the moment. Soyeon aimed the bag of jellies at Yuqi in retaliation, but the younger girl was too fast and caught it before it could hit her in the stomach.

“You’re a brat.”

“But I’m _your_ brat.”

Soyeon’s heart warmed at that, against all better judgement.

Then she immediately wanted to slap herself.

“I’m going to bed.”

Soyeon was just about to get up when Yuqi pushed her down again.

“Just sleep here. I don’t mind. I didn’t get to clean up your bed yet.”

“And what about you?”

Soyeon was to embarrassed and prideful to ask her real question. _Will you sleep beside me?_

“I’ll sleep on the couch! I’ve done it a million times, so it’s really no problem.”

Soyeon, heart still feeling like it would explode at any point, didn’t have the energy to say no.

When Soyeon woke up in the morning, she felt more rested than she had been in weeks. She felt like a new person, despite the faint throbbing coming from her ankle. It took her a moment to notice the different scent surrounding her, much earthier than the citrus smell of her own perfume. She soon noticed the loud snoring coming from the other side of the room, where her usual roommate Miyeon was replaced by Minnie.

All the memories from the previous night came back to her in a rush, and she felt panic as the embarrassment seeped into her chest. Above all, the image of Yuqi’s impish smirk and soft lips were was burned permanently into her mind.

_What is wrong with me?_


	4. Oh My God

Soyeon was upset. And it wasn’t due to the raging thunderstorm outside.

Yuqi and her had plans to work on songs and eat take out, with the staff members asking Soyeon to help Yuqi with some new programs that she was struggling with. But only fifteen minutes before they were supposed to meet, Yuqi texted her that she had other plans with friends that she had completely forgotten about it. Normally Soyeon would get over it right away, but this had already been the third time this month that Yuqi had cancelled on her at the last minute.

She knew Yuqi was a social butterfly, the opposite of everything Soyeon was, but she was still hurt by the girl’s actions. Yuqi needed help, so Soyeon cleared her personal schedule to make time to teach her. And instead of getting to do that, now she’s sitting alone in her studio on a beautiful Friday night while Yuqi was eating fancy dinner with her new friends and the other members were having a pizza party at the dorm.

Yuqi always got easily wrapped up in new friends and activities, so it wasn’t a huge surprise. But foolishly, Soyeon saw herself as one of the few things that Yuqi always put first. Or maybe she used to be, but not anymore. The mood between them had shifted in the recent months. Yuqi used to cling to Soyeon’s side and tell Soyeon everything that was going on in her life. But recently, Yuqi had distanced herself. Instead of asking Soyeon to go grocery shopping, she would go alone or with Shuhua. She watched dramas alone every night, no longer even bothering to ask Soyeon if she wanted to watch so they could cuddle on the couch together. Yuqi would speak to her other friends in hushed tones on the phone whenever Soyeon walked around, even though Soyeon didn’t have a chance of understanding Mandarin. On stormy nights, Yuqi used to silently sneak into her room and curl up on her bed, too afraid to brave the storm alone. These days, Soyeon found Yuqi emerging from Minnie’s room instead after nights filled with thunder and lightning.

Yuqi wasn’t even flying back and forth to China anymore, but she felt more distant now than she ever did during that stressful period.

Did she do something wrong? She thought about all the interactions they had around the time that Yuqi stopped talking to her, but she couldn’t pinpoint a single reason for the girl’s unusual coldness. They just did their usual routine of teasing and warmhearted gestures. Maybe Soyeon had taken a joke too far? She didn’t remember anything like that, but she knew Yuqi was the most sensitive out of all of them, even if she pretended to be easy going.

It had been over a year since their almost kiss, but after that night, Yuqi had never acknowledged it or even hinted at it. Part of Soyeon was thankful that the other girl didn’t tease her about it (because she could never live it down) but another part of her felt upset that Yuqi never even noticed the same tension she felt. Soyeon had enough time to realize that she had deeper feelings for the younger girl, but she forced herself to carry on as normal and try to ignore every time her heart raced when Yuqi would come near. Maybe Yuqi had finally noticed Soyeon’s crush and was disgusted by it? That would explain a lot, but Soyeon couldn’t bare to think about that possibility.

Soyeon reasoned that the best way to get through her complicated feelings was with her natural coping mechanism, so she began furiously writing down lyrics, not caring too much about how good they sounded. She just wanted to get all the emotion out.

Soyeon didn’t even know how much time had passed by the time she heard digits being entered into her studio door’s keypad. Her clock read 11pm, and Soyeon realized that she never had dinner. Maybe Miyeon had popped by to give her some pizza like she had before in the past when Soyeon was stuck working late.

Her hopes were quickly diminished when she heard heavy steps that could only belong to one person.

She had been feeling a little better after writing but knowing the girl who had caused her this much stress was standing right behind her made Soyeon’s bitter feelings wash over her like a cold wave.

“Hey.”

Soyeon didn’t turn around to say hello back, and instead continued focusing on her computer screen, unsure how to respond without giving away her emotional state. An awkward moment passed by as Yuqi waited for a response.

Yuqi, a person not know for caring much about social pleasantries, moved forward and grabbed the back of Soyeon’s chair, spinning her around so she would face her. Yuqi leaned over Soyeon as she gripped the arms of her chairs. The close proximity only made Soyeon more frustrated and she couldn’t even offer a cordial ‘hello’ between her racing heartbeats.

“Jeon Soyeon! Do you have headphones in or something?”

Yuqi pushed back Soyeon’s hoodie, uncovering her empty ears. She was just about to ask Soyeon what her problem was when the older girl beat her to it.

“What do you want, Yuqi?”

Yuqi was put off by Soyeon’s heated tone, and immediately jumped onto the defensive.

“I just wanted to say hi! I thought that was what friends do when they are nearby.”

_Friends_. She wasn’t even sure that was what her and Yuqi were anymore. How could friends go from being inseparable to barely speaking to each other in the span of only a few weeks? Thinking about it only made her feel more bitter, and the words left her mouth before she even knew what she was saying.

“Why don’t you just go bother one of your other friends?”

Realization dawned on Yuqi as she pieced together the reason for Soyeon’s dark mood. Her expression immediately dropped to a frown.

“I had something important to talk about with them. I’m really sorry for cancelling on you.”

“If you were actually sorry, you wouldn’t have ditched me three times already this month.”

The younger girl was taken aback by Soyeon’s quick accusation.

“If you ever bothered to ask me why instead of jumping to conclusions, I would have told you.” Yuqi said evenly, hoping her voice wouldn’t break.

“I can’t do this right now, Yuqi.”

Soyeon tried to turn around again, but Yuqi held the chair still. Their eyes were burning holes into each other, and Soyeon felt her fight or flight reaction pump adrenaline through her veins.

“I think we should talk about this.”

Soyeon scoffed, hardly able to control the disdain dripping into her words. Her eyes were shooting daggers. Soyeon usually had a strong hold on her emotions, but when she was this upset, she couldn’t stop herself from lashing out.

“You don’t speak to me for weeks, and then demand my full attention? Why do you get to play with me like that?”

Yuqi looked hurt, and Soyeon couldn’t decide it if made her feel satisfied or upset. Yuqi retorted before she could figure it out.

“You just don’t get it, Soyeon. You didn’t exactly make yourself available recently either! Half the time I would knock on your door to share food or hangout, you would tell me to go away!”

Soyeon was stunned. She did turn Yuqi away more often than ever before, but that was mostly because she was too ashamed to let the other girl read the lyrics she had been writing. Over 90% had been about her embarrassing feelings for Yuqi, and the girl was probably smart enough to figure it out even after reading a single line.

“I—”

She never thought about how her own actions toward Yuqi would be perceived. That they could hurt her. Maybe the other girl cared more than Soyeon thought she did.

“I’m sorry for acting distant recently, but I have stuff I’m dealing with too, and I needed help from my friends. You’re not the only one with feelings.”

Soyeon never meant for Yuqi to feel like that. Maybe she had been selfish recently, spiraling into her own negative feelings instead of noticing what her friends had been going through. She felt enormous guilt, and it pushed her to the edge. Her superficial anger had dissipated in a flash, and it was replaced with sadness.

“Why didn’t you just ask me for help?”

Desperation leaked into Soyeon’s voice, cracking it as she tried to hold it together. She wasn’t someone who enjoyed arguments, especially with someone she loved. She just wanted to know why Yuqi didn’t trust her anymore. She was scared of the answer.

“You can’t do everything for me, Soyeon.” Yuqi sighed. She sounded defeated, more unhappy than Yuqi had sounded in a long time.

“What if I want to?” Soyeon whispered, unable to hold back anymore.

She wasn’t lying. Soyeon wanted to be everything to Yuqi. She wanted to be the only one who got to hug her, tease her, kiss her. She wanted to make music with Yuqi. She wanted Yuqi to come to her with her problems. She hated how much she wanted it.

Silence hung between them after the older girl’s admission, and Soyeon felt like she was going to faint as she waited for Yuqi’s answer.

Yuqi’s face went through multiple emotions before settling on the one that finally broke Soyeon. She could deal with anger. She could deal with disgust. But the look of pity on Yuqi’s face made her want to disappear. She was sure the girl had figured out Soyeon’s feelings and was preparing to reject her. Nothing was worse than pity.

“Soyeon, I—"

Soyeon’s body acted before her brain could catch up, and she ducked under Yuqi’s arm to make her escape. She couldn’t handle whatever Yuqi was about to say, especially now when all her nerves were raw.

“I’m leaving. Don’t bother coming to my room tonight.”

When the Soyeon left the studio, she slammed the door on the way out.

Soyeon was always a silent crier. When she was younger, sometimes her parents didn’t even notice she had cried until they saw the salty tear tracks on her cheeks. Now was no different and after dodging Minnie who was scrounging for food in the kitchen, Soyeon was hidden in her pillows, crying out of embarrassment and frustration. It had been almost an hour since she had dried off from the rain and curled up into her bed, and her exhaustion was finally overtaking her need to cry.

Soyeon was on the verge of sleep when she felt a weight behind her on the bed. It must be the older girl checking in on her. She didn’t even bother opening her puffy eyes to double check.

“I’m ok, Minnie unnie. Just go to sleep.” She croaked, hoping to not embarrass herself any further in front of her members.

“No, you’re not.” Yuqi’s husky voice responded before curling up behind Soyeon, pulling the older girl into her embrace. Yuqi’s arms wrapped around Soyeon’s stomach, and her face buried itself into the nape of Soyeon’s neck.

Soyeon thought she was dreaming at first, due to her half-conscious state, but Yuqi’s touch soon fully woke her up. Her entire body went rigid as every one of her nerve endings burned where her and Yuqi’s bodies touched. Yuqi didn’t seem to mind her stiffness, however, and only pulled her closer.

“What are you doing here?”

“Apologizing.”

Soyeon’s rational side wanted to throw the girl’s arms off of her and get as much distance as possible, but her body betrayed her by burying itself even deeper into Yuqi’s embrace.

“Apologizing for what?”

Soyeon tried to reign in her racing heartbeat, telling herself that Yuqi was just taking pity on her and apologizing so work wouldn’t be awkward tomorrow.

“For not communicating with you better. For saying mean things that I already regret. For not giving you the time you deserved from me.”

Yuqi might have crossed a line by cuddling her before they even got to discuss their fight, but Soyeon couldn’t say that it wasn’t an effective tactic. She felt so comfortable in the younger girl’s arms, and wished she could lay like this forever. Soyeon just wanted to go back to how they used to be, even though they were never close enough to satisfy Soyeon’s real feelings. But she could suffer longer if it just meant that Yuqi would stay near.

“I’m sorry too…” Soyeon whispered, trying to keep herself from crying. She hated crying in front of others. She never wanted to influence another person’s response to her with tears. She just wanted them to tell her their real feelings with no attempts to appease her. It was always better to know how someone truly felt than to for them to pad it with useless platitudes and pleasantries.

“It’s ok. I know you do everything for us, and sometimes we—I burden you too much without trying to help carry your burden too.”

Yuqi rubbed calming patterns into Soyeon’s side, trying to ease the sharp tension that still filled the smaller girl’s limbs. Soyeon’s body gradually responded, betraying her racing mind as it relaxed further into Yuqi’s touch. It was like Yuqi knew every single cheat code when it came to Soyeon, and the older girl found it exceedingly unfair.

“Can I tell you what I was talking about with my friends?” Yuqi whispered, more timid than Soyeon had ever heard her.

Soyeon nodded her head and could feel Yuqi’s smile brush the skin on the back of her neck. It sent tingles all the way down her spine, even though this wasn’t too far from Yuqi’s usual platonic skinship.

Yuqi took a deep breath and nuzzled into the side of Soyeon’s neck, mumbling into her sensitive ear.

“I didn’t know how to deal with sudden feelings that appeared, and I was worried I was going to ruin an important relationship with my immaturity.”

“Oh.”

Soyeon felt her entire body heat up as she pieced together Yuqi’s muffled words. She might have misheard, but it sounded like Yuqi was admitting to her own feelings. Maybe she really was still dreaming. Soyeon couldn’t see Yuqi’s face from this position, so she didn’t know what to do. She was too in shock to respond, so Yuqi continued.

“I thought I had messed up already by being so ignorant. I played with your feelings without ever asking myself why I always wanted your attention. I craved it but whenever you gave it to me, I felt overwhelmed. That time in my room—”

“You remember that?” Soyeon cut in. She couldn’t believe that Yuqi was finally acknowledging what had happened right before their debut.

“Yes. I do. I wasn’t ready yet. I was way too immature and couldn’t handle the reality of having feelings for another girl. But I’ve thought about it every single day since then.”

“Really?”

Soyeon thought she was the only one who had replayed that moment in her head a million times, and she felt vindicated that Yuqi had felt the same.

“How couldn’t I? The cutest girl in the world was waiting for me to kiss her and I blew it. That stupid chocolate bar wasn’t worth it.”

Soyeon finally laughed, a choked noise that broke through her unshed tears.

“I’m not cute.”

Yuqi laughed this time, and to make her point, she shook Soyeon’s entire body like an excited puppy playing with a stuffed animal.

“Soyeon, you are really cute. No matter how much you deny it, I won’t let you forget it.”

Soyeon felt herself blushing and was happy knowing that Yuqi couldn’t see her red and puffy face from behind.

They lay together in silence for a few moments, absorbing all the changes their relationship had gone through in a short time while enjoying each other’s touch. It felt natural, even if it took a lot of stress and miscommunication to get here.

The companionable silence was broken soon enough when Soyeon could feel Yuqi not so subtly brushing her lips against Soyeon’s bare skin. Her hands had somehow moved under Soyeon’s thick hoodie too, with her confident fingers grazing against Soyeon’s sensitive sides. Soyeon should have expected this from the most bold and impatient girl in the world.

“Do you need something?” Soyeon asked playfully. After weeks of gloom and frustration, she finally felt content and reenergized.

“Can I kiss you, unnie?” Yuqi rarely called her unnie these days, but hearing it definitely did something for Soyeon that she couldn’t explain. Another thing to file under her list of ordinary things that Yuqi did that got her feeling hot and bothered.

“Please.”

Yuqi first lay another kiss on the nape of her neck with a chuckle, then on the sensitive spot under her jaw. Yuqi giggled when Soyeon shivered at the contact.

“I didn’t know you were this sensitive, unnie.”

Yuqi teased, earning an embarrassed whined from the older girl. Yuqi took a mental note to tease Soyeon like this more often, just so she could hear her make that whine again.

She leaned over Soyeon’s side and gently grasped the older girl’s chin so she could turn Soyeon’s face towards her.

“I apologize in advance if I do this wrong.” Yuqi said with a chuckle, admitting to her inexperience.

Soyeon had secretly hoped that she was Yuqi’s first romantic partner, but hearing the confirmation made her stomach feel warm. Maybe she was a little possessive, but that was a conversation for another time.

“Just do it.” Soyeon challenged, feeling Yuqi’s impatience rubbing off on her.

Yuqi’s eyes lit up when she heard the demand and finally leaned in. She tasted like watermelon chapstick, just as Soyeon always imagined. But it was better in every way. The younger girl’s lips were soft and fit perfectly between her own.

The kiss was surprisingly unhurried, despite it being Yuqi’s first time. Yuqi, as always, surprised her yet again. Soyeon didn’t have much experience herself, aside from an older girl from school who took a liking to her a few years ago, but she could already tell that her and Yuqi were very compatible. The girl was a fast learner and Soyeon was good at guiding her.

Yuqi would never tell Soyeon (but she would probably eventually be coerced to admit it by the older girl), but she did quite a lot of research in the past few weeks on this subject. Starting with a simple “Do I like girls?” search on the internet, Yuqi fell into a wormhole of knowledge about relationships and girls. She always was a very diligent student. Even kissing could be broken down into simple steps, and Yuqi always tried her hardest at everything she attempted. She wanted Soyeon to be blown away, mostly so Soyeon would be satisfied, but also partly so Yuqi could brag about it later to the older girl when she teased her. Her friends also gave her a lot of good tips, even though she turned bright red as they explained the intricacies of women.

Now she wanted to put those lessons to use. She started by moving from their awkward spooning position to leaning above Soyeon, her knees trapping the smaller girl between them. Now that they were facing each other, Yuqi could fully take in the beauty of Soyeon. She had already removed her makeup, her eyes were a bit puffy, and her face was flushed. She was the most beautiful person Yuqi had ever seen. Her sharp gaze was captivating, and her lips were softer than Yuqi could have ever guessed.

“Stop staring.” Soyeon said shyly, not used to being examined this closely.

“You’re too cute to look away from.” This time Yuqi was being serious.

“Song Yuqi…” Yuqi thought that Soyeon was going to hit her, but instead she grabbed Yuqi’s collar and guided her back to her lips. They both smiled into the kiss, unable to control their happiness.

After a few moments of bliss, Yuqi began leaving love bites on Soyeon’s neck, out of intuition that the smaller girl would probably enjoy it. After all of Yuqi’s research, she seemed the type. Luckily, Yuqi wasn’t wrong, and Soyeon’s whimpers made her feel so successful that she almost pumped her fist into the air. Almost.

Yuqi closed her eyes as she kissed and nipped at Soyeon’s skin, letting her instincts take over. She never knew how good this would feel, and wished her and Soyeon had started making out ages ago. Hearing the usually calm and collected leader moaning under her made her feel something she could have never imagined if she was with a boy. She liked being able to take charge without any gender roles being forced onto her, and Soyeon seemed to enjoy it quite a lot too, judging from the way she was trembling beneath her.

Yuqi senses were overwhelmed by Soyeon, and she fell into a daze as they continued kissing. Yuqi really felt like she could die and go to heaven right now and be satisfied, but then she realized that they still had so much left to do. Her stomach flipped when she imagined what _that_ would be like. She felt herself becoming impatient as her imagination went wild.

“Ah...ah… Yuqi-ah…”

Soyeon’s breathy words seemed to awaken the focused girl above her, who soon noticed the position they were both in. Yuqi was pressed on top of Soyeon, their bodies fitting perfectly together. Soyeon’s eyes were half closed and her breathing was labored. Her sensual gaze made Yuqi feel like they were doing things they weren’t supposed to do. Soyeon’s neck was covered in love bites that would have to be discreetly covered for work tomorrow. Yuqi’s wandering fingers had pushed Soyeon’s sweatshirt up to her chest, revealing the bottom of her daisy yellow bra.

Yuqi’s eyes were frozen on Soyeon’s half revealed bra, and her gaze wasn’t broken until Soyeon snapped her fingers in her face.

“A little eager?” She joked nonchalantly, barely hiding the blush that started from her cheeks and went all the way down to her chest.

“Oh… oh... sorry.” It was finally Yuqi’s turn to blush, and she swiftly pulled Soyeon’s sweatshirt back down before patting it flat.

“We should um… go to sleep.” After seeing how far they had already gone on their first try, Yuqi knew they should probably stop before they do anything they weren’t ready for. She wanted. She wanted _so_ badly. But Yuqi knew that when she woke up in the morning, she would be happy that they slowed down. Soyeon was worth it.

“That sounds good.” Yuqi agreed.

“And we need to talk more in the morning.” Soyeon’s logic and reason was gradually returning to her, and she knew that her and Yuqi’s communication problems wouldn’t just be solved with a make out session, even though it definitely helped move things along.

“Okey dokey.” Instead of returning to her own room, Yuqi only buried herself deeper into Soyeon’s bed, one hand thrown possessively over the smaller girl’s body.

“Are you sleeping here?” Soyeon asked with an eyebrow raised.  
  


“Of course! My girlfriend always lets me sleep with her when there’s a storm outside.”

Soyeon rolled her eyes at Yuqi’s boldness but didn’t make any attempts to throw her out of the bed. Instead, she moved back into her embrace, secretly loving being the little spoon.

“Girlfriend? When did that happen?” Soyeon inquired casually, even though she felt her entire soul leave her body as soon as the word left Yuqi’s mouth.

“You’ve been my girlfriend in my mind for months so just roll with it.” Yuqi said plainly.

That made Soyeon hit Yuqi on the thigh, but couldn’t hide her smile as she realized that Yuqi was finally her girlfriend. She expected to have been asked, maybe in a more romantic manner over a moonlight dinner, but she knew that wasn’t her and Yuqi’s style.

Soyeon turned around to give Yuqi one last kiss on the nose before they went to sleep, trying her best to stay cool as she felt fireworks exploding in her chest. They still had a lot to talk about, but it was all worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the delay, heres a long chapter to make up for it!


	5. [M] Luv U

It was supposed to just be a normal Friday night. Soyeon had planned to write a little at the studio, watch some anime, and go to sleep at a reasonable hour so she would be well rested for their early schedule the next day. It wasn’t anything exciting, but it was nice to have some time to herself to recharge.

However, a massive snowstorm threw all her plans out the window. Her manager texted the group chat around 5pm telling them that their outdoor schedule in the morning was delayed for a week, freeing up their Saturday morning. Soon after, Minnie texted to tell Soyeon that she was stuck at her friend’s apartment for the night due to the storm, so she wouldn’t be coming home until the morning. Then she heard commotion at the front door as two loud girls entered, breaking the peaceful atmosphere.

Soyeon couldn’t make out what Yuqi and Shuhua were excitedly talking about in rapid fire Mandarin, but judging from their expressions, both girls were happy about the cancelled morning schedule.

“I’m going to go make dinner with Miyeon and Soojin, do you guys want to come?” Shuhua asked.

“I’ve already eaten, but thank you, Shuhua.”

Shuhua turned to Yuqi, waiting to see her answer.

“Actually, I have some leftovers to finish off tonight, so maybe another day?” Yuqi explained, her obvious lying causing Shuhua to roll her eyes. Shuhua was the first to find out about their relationship, since Yuqi never knew how to keep her mouth shut around her friends. Shuhua was really happy for Soyeon, of course, but still couldn’t understand how her dear leader could date a brat like Yuqi.

“Ok, ok, I get it. Enjoy your night, Soyeon unnie.” Shuhua said respectfully, before turning to Yuqi with a glare.

“And you too, I guess.” Shuhua stuck her tongue out at Yuqi as she left. As soon as she was gone, Yuqi plopped down on the couch beside Soyeon with a dramatic sigh.

“Why is she so nice to you but always teases me?”

Soyeon giggled at Yuqi’s whining while reaching over to brush the younger girl’s unruly bangs out of her eyes.

“I guess you’re just fun to tease.”

Yuqi moved closer, her breath tickling Soyeon’s ear as she whispered into it, doing her best to sound sexy.

“But you’re even more fun to tease, right unnie?”

Soyeon rolled her eyes at Yuqi’s attempted seduction, but at the same time, a blush slowly crept up her neck. Yuqi counted that as a victory.

For her next step, she climbed into Soyeon’s lap and wrapped her arms around her shoulders, a move the older girl was quite familiar with by now. It meant that Yuqi wanted something from her.

“Ppo-ppo?” Yuqi asked with as much aegyo as she could muster as she cutely pointed at her own lips.

Soyeon always acted like she hated Yuqi’s cute acting, but Yuqi knew the girl secretly loved it. Even now, Soyeon was barely suppressing an adoring smile behind her attempt at a neutral glare.

Yuqi made a cute noise and leaned in, ready for a kiss from her attractive girlfriend after a stressful day.

But before she could pull Soyeon into a kiss, the older girl poked her on the nose, stopping her right before their lips touched. Yuqi might have overestimated her victory.

“No kisses until after we get cleaned up.”

Yuqi grumbled in response, but couldn’t help but agree with Soyeon. They both had long days, and a shower didn’t sound too bad right now.

In a perfect world (well, Yuqi’s perfect world) they would shower together, but Soyeon had been firm about boundaries and they hadn’t gotten that far into their relationship yet. Yuqi knew the older girl was extremely shy, so she didn’t push her into anything she wasn’t comfortable with.

They had been together for a few months already, but haven’t had much alone time due to their extremely busy comeback schedule and the constant interruptions from their well-meaning but exasperating members. Yuqi could easily count over five times that the other girls had walked into a heated moment between them and they had to break apart quickly before they got caught. Yuqi honestly didn’t mind, but she knew Soyeon would be beyond embarrassed to be caught in the act.

She sighed dramatically again and threw herself back onto the couch, sprawling over the pillows like a child having a tantrum as Soyeon got ready to shower. The older girl was so used to her antics that she could selectively drown out Yuqi’s whining, and this time was no exception as Soyeon pretended to not see or hear her. However, Yuqi swore she saw an amused smile on her girlfriend’s lips before she shut the bathroom door.

As Soyeon showered, Yuqi played on the older girl’s phone, scrolling through cute pictures they had taken together earlier that week. She soon noticed that Minnie had texted Soyeon, and clicked on the notification.

_So Minnie isn’t coming back to the dorm until tomorrow…_

Yuqi could feel herself getting overexcited as the possibilities exploded in her mind. They were alone in the dorm. The other girls were busy cooking. They had no schedule in the morning because of the snow. It was like the perfect storm (literally).

When Soyeon finally left the bathroom, she moved to her bedroom so fast that Yuqi could barely get a glimpse of her towel. She was playing hard to get as usual, but Yuqi loved it.

Yuqi took the fastest shower in her entire life as she felt herself growing more and more excited. Maybe tonight was finally _the_ night.

After throwing on her corgi patterned pajamas, Yuqi ran to Soyeon’s door, taking a deep breath before knocking.

“Can I come in?”

“Yea, I just finished getting dressed.”

Yuqi walked into the room to find Soyeon laying on her stomach on the bed, watching something on her phone as her short blonde hair dried. The older girl was wearing cute lemon patterned pajamas with tiny shorts that drew Yuqi’s eyes to the back of her soft thighs. Yuqi really thought she could keep her cool, but she only lasted twenty seconds before the tips of her ears began feeling hot. She didn’t even realize she was staring until Soyeon cleared her throat.

“Are you feeling ok?”

“Oh. Yup, I’m feeling great!” Yuqi said a little too loudly, causing Soyeon to frown with doubt.

“Ok…” Soyeon said, waiting for Yuqi to say what was on her mind.

Yuqi took another deep breath before mumbling out what she had been holding in for what felt like centuries.

“Soooooo, Soyeon. Jeon Soyeon. Can we um. Can we… Maybe do something. Hm.”

Soyeon looked at her with a deadpan expression, not understanding anything Yuqi just said.

“I mean… can we do something tonight?” Yuqi said vaguely, gesturing even more vaguely with her hands.

“What are you trying to say, Yuqi?” Soyeon’s glare cut through Yuqi’s mumbling, forcing the girl to spit it out.

“Um. I would like to have se—make lov—um those both sound weird when I say it out loud.”

“Just say it.”

“Would you like to sleep with me tonight?” Yuqi asked, hoping it sounded at least partially romantic and sexy. But it came out sounding more like a childish request. Ugh.

“Hm…Fine.” Soyeon’s blank face didn’t betray any emotions, and Yuqi felt herself break out into cold sweat. Did Soyeon really not care?

“Fine?! That’s all you have to say?”

It took a few moments, but soon Soyeon’s cold expression broke into a mischievous grin and she couldn’t stop giggling, rolling all over the bed as Yuqi pouted. 

“Nope, but it’s fun to watch you get so worked up.” She laughed again, unfortunately looking adorable in Yuqi’s eyes even though she was making fun of her.

“Soooooyeeeoonnnnn. Don’t tease me like that.” Yuqi felt like her legs were going to give out as she leaned her back against Soyeon’s closed door.

“I can’t help it.”

When she finally finished laughing, she patted the spot beside her on the bed, inviting Yuqi to finally sit down. Yuqi placed herself awkwardly, which Soyeon noticed it right away, and decided to tease her even further.

“So what do you want to do exactly?” Soyeon said so casually that it almost sounded like she was taking a food order. She wanted to sound mature and indifferent, mostly to hide her own insecurities that began bubbling up. She was a great actress though and knew Yuqi would fall for it like usual.

Yuqi tried her best to match her girlfriend’s mature and cool attitude as she answered. They were both adults! They should be able to have an adult conversation about this, right? It was a normal relationship thing that adults did! Sex wasn’t that big of a deal, was it? It was like other normal adult stuff like taxes and lower back pain.

“I think we should sleep together tonight. I believe we would both greatly benefit from it and it would further strengthen our relationship. I’ve also heard that doctors say that sex is good for dealing with stress, so it would even be good for our long-term health!”

As she spoke formally, she imagined herself presenting a PowerPoint in front of a board meeting about the reasons why Soyeon should sleep with her.

“Is this a business presentation?” Soyeon heckled, reading Yuqi’s mind right away. Yuqi’s composure broke once again as she shook up and down on the bed in frustration.

“No! It’s all your fault I’m acting like this! I just wanted to sound mature!” Yuqi loved and hated how much Soyeon could tease her, and she felt like she was going crazy

“It was adorable.”

“I’m not trying to be cute! I want to be mature and sexy!” Yuqi pouted.

Soyeon couldn’t resist her girlfriend anymore, and finally put out an olive branch. She pulled Yuqi down to lay on the bed and straddled her hips. Yuqi was still whining, but she quickly shut up when Soyeon gave her a deep kiss before speaking again.

“I think I’m ready, Yuqi-ah.”

Soyeon could tease as long as she wanted but she couldn’t deny the fact that her heart raced as she thought of finally going all the way with her cute girlfriend. She thought about Yuqi 24/7 and it frustrated her to no end that they rarely had alone time. It was finally time to let those frustrations out in a healthy way, instead of just tearing through her notebook paper.

“How do you want to go about this?” Yuqi inquired, not wanting to cross any boundaries by accident.

“You choose.”

Soyeon might have a dominate personality during work, but in their relationship, she enjoyed when Yuqi took charge.

“I’ll take care of you first then, Soyeon.” Yuqi said confidently.

“Are you sure about that?” Soyeon lifted an eyebrow, challenging Yuqi’s gung-ho attitude with a smirk.

“Yes, I am! And it’s going to be so amazing that you’re going to dream about it for weeks.”

“Ok, ok. Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

Yuqi was an infamous bluffer, but regrettably she was probably right. Soyeon already had dreams about this, even before they ever did it.

Yuqi flipped them around so she was now straddling Soyeon’s lap as the smaller girl lay against the pillows. They both smiled shyly at each other as their eyes met. Soyeon pulled Yuqi into a tight hug, trying her best to release the butterflies that they both had in their stomach. No one made her feel more loved or comfortable than Yuqi, and she wanted the girl to know her real feelings, even though she teased her. She always wanted her first time to be special, probably due to all the romance mangas she read as a middle schooler, and now she couldn’t imagine a more special time than being here with the girl she loved.

“Can we leave our clothes on for now? I don’t know if I’m ready for that part yet.”

Soyeon’s voice was small as she murmured into her ear, and Yuqi felt her heart burst.

The younger girl nodded her head so quickly she saw stars. She would do anything to make Soyeon more feel more comfortable, and besides, she thought Soyeon’s lemon pajamas were so cute she wasn’t sure she even wanted to take them off yet.

“Of course! Just tell me if anything is bothering you and I’ll stop right away, ok?”

“Ok.”

Yuqi drew back from their hug, and Soyeon could see the excitement in her eyes as she surveyed Soyeon, figuring out the best plan of attack. She was taking longer than Soyeon hoped, probably overthinking everything as usual, so Soyeon tapped her on the butt to get her attention.

“Just kiss me, Yuqi.”

“Ok, ok!”

Yuqi really was like a puppy sometimes, and Soyeon could almost imagine her tail wagging as she finally leaned down and kissed Soyeon.

The kiss started out sweet and hesitant, but Soyeon soon wrapped her arms around Yuqi’s shoulders, pulling her into a deeper and more passionate kiss.

Yuqi’s hands began to wander, as usual, and Soyeon could feel them pushing up her pajama top as they kissed. Since they were in their pajamas, she wasn’t wearing a bra, and it took Yuqi’s brain a moment to register that fact when she finally grazed the bottom of Soyeon’s bare chest.

“Is this ok?”

Soyeon nodded, unable to find her voice as Yuqi’s fingers traced patterns on her abs.

This was new ground for them, but Soyeon felt ready for it. Yuqi had touched her chest over her clothes before, but that was mostly during short and heated make out sessions between schedules. This was much more intimate.

Soyeon inhaled sharply as Yuqi brushed her fingers against her breasts, and the younger girl’s expression changed to one of victory as she watched Soyeon arch her back in pleasure.

“Wow. Wow.” Yuqi exclaimed as she watched Soyeon.

“You are so annoying.” Soyeon mumbled breathily, trying to keep her composure.

“You like it when I’m annoying”

“Ugh.”

In response, Yuqi just gave her another cheeky grin and touched her again, coaxing out another moan. Soyeon could feel herself burning up and was worried she wouldn’t last as long as she hoped.

To prevent that, Soyeon decided she would play around with Yuqi. Soyeon knew Yuqi wanted to go first to prove herself, but she couldn’t resist touching and teasing the younger girl. She was just too cute not to.

Soyeon used her hands to reposition Yuqi on her lap while the younger girl was too occupied leaving love bites on Soyeon’s exposed collar bone. The buttons of Soyeon’s pajama top were barely holding on, but Yuqi was still respectful not to uncover the older girl without her permission.

After another bite aimed at her shoulder caused her to let out an embarrassing whine, Soyeon thought it was time to turn the tables, and shamelessly pushed her thigh up between Yuqi’s legs.

Yuqi moaned against Soyeon’s chest, her eyes going wide in surprise. Soyeon snickered at her dramatic response and brought the girl’s face up into a searing kiss. Then she pushed her thigh even harder into the younger girl.

Yuqi’s hips stuttered as she pressed herself into Soyeon’s thigh. She tried focusing on her task, but Soyeon’s touch made her mind go blank.

“Soyeonnnnnieee….” She whined, but it came out much deeper and huskier than usual. Soyeon knew she was winning and wanted to push it further.

Soyeon, not knowing what the outcome would be but wanted to at least try, pulled Yuqi closer to her and began sucking on the spot under her ear. Even though she was still unsure, Soyeon’s body seemed to know exactly what to do as she kissed Yuqi.

A muffled moan escaped Yuqi’s lips, and Soyeon wanted to see if she could tease the girl more. She wanted Yuqi to know exactly how Soyeon felt every time the younger girl touched her. She liked when Yuqi took control most of the time, but she also wanted the other girl to feel just as loved as she did.

Soyeon nipped at Yuqi’s earlobe, a movement meant to be playful and teasing.

However, she got more than she bargained for.

Soyeon felt the girl above her let out a whimper as her entire body shivered. Soyeon continued biting Yuqi’s ear, not sure exactly what was happening but knowing her body craved to hear Yuqi make that noise again. She felt Yuqi’s hips grind harder against her thigh, her pajama pants rubbing against Soyeon’s bare skin, and she automatically moved her own hands to Yuqi’s waist to help the younger girl move against her. After another sharp nip at her ear lead to Yuqi’s hips shuddering against Soyeon, the girl on top of her completely froze after letting out a moan that immediately burned itself into Soyeon’s memories.

“ _Soyeon_ …”

Oh.

After weak mumbles of protest, Yuqi collapsed forward onto Soyeon, breathing hard into Soyeon’s neck as she caught her breath. Soyeon’s mind had gone blank as soon as she heard Yuqi moan her name with closed eyes and flushed cheeks.

After a moment of dazed bliss, Yuqi shot up so fast that Soyeon thought she might fall off the bed. The younger girl’s eyes were a mix of panic and pleasure.

Soyeon was equally shocked when she finally realized what had just happened.

“Did you just—”

Yuqi’s face turned bright red, and Soyeon would have giggled at her embarrassment if she wasn’t currently feeling like she was living an out of body experience.

“Do. Not. Say. Another. Word.”

She punctuated each word by poking Soyeon in the chest, and Soyeon didn’t know how someone so cute could have been so hot only a few moments ago.

Soyeon knew in theory that Yuqi was sensitive to touch. Anytime she barely bruised herself or even had a paper cut, she would act like she was ready to go to the ER.

On a similar thread, she was equally sensitive to gentle touches, from a quick brush of their fingers to a supportive arm thrown around her shoulders. Yuqi craved platonic touches from all of the members, but with Soyeon, even the smallest touch would affect her for hours.

But Yuqi’s ears… Soyeon never knew _just_ how sensitive they were before. She would have to take great advantage of it in the future if the outcome was always this intense. They hadn’t even taken their clothes off yet.

“Oh my god.” Yuqi groaned in embarrassment, feeling like an overeager teenage boy. She couldn’t believe that just happened. She thought she had better self-control, but maybe she was wrong.

“I thought you were gonna ‘take care’ of me first?”

Soyeon goaded, earning her a stern look.

“I was! I just got… carried away. Once again, it’s all your fault. You played me!”

“You couldn’t resist me, right?”

Soyeon was teasing again, but Yuqi’s outplayed her by answering as sincerely as possible.

“Honestly? When you bit my ear, I thought I had died and went to heaven.”

It was now Soyeon’s turn to blush. She hated when Yuqi made her heart race with her earnest words. She tried to ignore the way it made her feel and pretended like it didn’t affect her as much as it did.

“Now that you’re done, you should try to complete your original task, Yuqi-ah.” Soyeon said as she stuck out her tongue.

Yuqi finally moved off of Soyeon’s thigh with a slightly humiliated expression. Soyeon would have laughed at her cute grumble but one of Yuqi’s hands had repositioned itself to her bare inner thigh and nothing else in the universe mattered right now.

Yuqi took a deep breath to steady herself, like she was an athlete just about to run a race or a student starting an important exam. It was adorable.

“Soyeon…um… what um… kind of touch do you prefer?”

“What?” Soyeon was still having a hard time processing anything and couldn’t believe what Yuqi was asking her.

“Like when your um… alone…”

Soyeon’s brain still didn’t register what the other girl was saying. Or at least it pretended not to.

“When I’m… alone?”

Soyeon knew that their relationship had reached a new level already, but she could never have imagined discussing her own… alone time… with someone else. But she reasoned this was probably a normal conversation for girlfriends.

“Oh uh… You know the thing that girls do when they are alone at night. Have you never done it?”

Yuqi probably thought that Soyeon was completely innocent at this point, and she knew she had to correct her before any more misunderstandings arose.

“I know what you meant, pabo.”

“Oh, ok.”

“I just didn’t know how to answer. I’ve never really… thought deeply about it before. It just happens.” Soyeon’s confident words faded into a nervous mumble. How was she supposed to describe it without dying from embarrassment?”

“Ok well… we can test out different things I’ve read about.”

Yuqi didn’t mean to let that slip out, but her brain was still mushy from before.

“You’ve read about this? Are you a pervert?”

“No!!! I just wanted to make sure I didn’t make a mistake. I like doing research before I try anything new.” Yuqi retorted. She didn’t want Soyeon to think she was a weirdo.

After contemplating her words for a moment, Soyeon brought her in for an intense kiss, catching Yuqi off guard.

“You are so ridiculous. I love you.”

They had said those words before, but it had a deeper meaning now. Yuqi’s heart swelled with joy.

“I love you too.”

Soyeon gave her a loving pat on her butt as Yuqi prepared herself.

“Ok, time to get down to business!” Yuqi said as she clapped her hands together.

Soyeon groaned at her lame declaration, but secretly adored it.

Yuqi repositioned herself so she was lying beside Soyeon. She lay on her side, leaning a bit over the older girl as Soyeon lay on her back. It was the perfect position to take in as much of Soyeon as possible.

Yuqi moved her hand to the center of Soyeon’s pajama shorts while locking eyes with Soyeon, waiting for her permission before she did anything. Soyeon slowly nodded as she felt heat flow from the base of her stomach to the rest of her body. It was snowing outside, but Soyeon’s body felt like it was overheating.

“Do you like this? Or this?”

The first touch was rough and hurried, which stressed Soyeon out more than it pleased her. The second touch was a soft caress, and Yuqi knew she had hit jackpot when Soyeon whimpered. She took a mental note that Soyeon liked to be treated gently in the bedroom, something that Yuqi found particularly endearing. Who would have thought that their intense and charismatic leader, their proud lion, was just a soft kitten who wanted to be spoiled?

Yuqi leaned down to kiss Soyeon again, hoping she could convey all her overflowing emotions through touch. She pulled back an inch before she asked Soyeon another question.

“What do you usually think about?” Yuqi asked it so innocently, but Soyeon knew she had more devious intentions.

If she was in her right mind, she would tell Yuqi to mind her own business. But right now, with Yuqi’s lips grazing her own as the younger girl gently teased Soyeon, she was an open book.

“You.”

“Me what?” Yuqi pushed further, her fingers moving quicker as she felt her own body heat up again.

“You touching me just like this.” Soyeon whimpered, too far gone to feel embarrassed.

Yuqi was worried before that she was asking too much, but when she saw the look of pleasure on Soyeon’s face, she realized the girl was actually enjoying it.

That drove Yuqi to work harder to accomplish her goal, and Soyeon’s whimpers grew louder as she was pushed to the edge.

Yuqi’s adoring gaze was the last thing Soyeon saw before she reached her peak. Yuqi gently led her through it and fell into Soyeon’s embrace when the older girl weakly held her arms up in invitation. It was the most comforting hug Yuqi had ever felt.

It took a few moments for Soyeon to realize she was crying. She was glad that Yuqi’s face was buried in her neck so she couldn’t see Soyeon’s moment of weakness. She didn’t know what was wrong with her, but she was so happy that she felt overwhelmed.

With a final kiss on the tip of her leader’s nose, Yuqi drew back to look at her girlfriend.

Soyeon covered her face, not ready to look Yuqi in the eye yet. She knew the girl was going to rub this in her face for weeks if she saw her crying. So much for being the cool and collected one.

But instead of teasing her, Yuqi gently drew Soyeon’s hands away before leaning down and kissing the tears that had fallen onto her cheeks. When she pulled away, her expression was so affectionate that Soyeon almost started crying again.

“You’re cute.”

“You’re cuter.”

“Agree to disagree, then?” Yuqi reasoned, not ready to give in.

They both giggled, tension dissipating as they both grew more comfortable with the realisation that they had finally gone all the way.

“Should we stay like this or…?” Yuqi asked.  
  


Soyeon had forgotten that they were still almost fully dressed. They were a little eager, she could admit. But she was so happy they were able to do this in a way that she was comfortable with. Now she could be more confident during the next time.

“We can shower again tomorrow.” Soyeon reasoned, not wanting to leave Yuqi’s embrace.

“Sounds good to me.” Yuqi agreed, her voice already tinged with sleep. 

“I love you.”

“I love you too, pabo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for the 100+ kudos! I really appreciate it and the comments as well! 
> 
> here is the final chapter and I hope you all enjoy it! i wanted their first time to be more realistic and a little funny, but also heartwarming! 
> 
> I might add a bonus chapter if people are interested :)
> 
> also Im thinking of writing a MiMin one shot next, but im still deciding on the plot, so stay tuned!


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